DoMore Diagnostics and UMC Utrecht Announce Research Collaboration to Validate Digital Biomarker Histotype Px® Colorectal for Personalized Cancer Treatment in Colon Cancer
OSLO – June 6, 2024 – DoMore Diagnostics, a leader in AI and deep learning precision medicine for cancer, and University Medical Centre Utrecht (UMC Utrecht), one of Europe’s top-ranked academic research centers and a pioneer in the adoption of digital pathology, are proud to announce a research collaboration to clinically validate Histotype Px® Colorectal as a biomarker in a large patient cohort of up to 2500 patients of stage II and stage III colon cancer patients.
This cohort includes patients from the PLCRC cohort (a study of the Dutch Colorectal Cancer Group - DCCG) treated with and without adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) after resection of the primary tumor. The study is currently ongoing, with the objective of generating data that can support clinical guideline inclusion and adoption of Histotype Px® Colorectal as a digital biomarker to guide ACT treatment decisions post-surgery in this patient population.
Associate Professor Dr. Jeanine Roodhart at the Department of Medical Oncology of UMC Utrecht, an international expert in the field of colorectal cancer, will lead the research project. “This innovative study will use the unique Dutch infrastructure of the Prospective Dutch Colorectal Cancer (PLCRC) cohort in combination with the Netherlands Cancer Registry (NCR) and PALGA“, said dr. Roodhart. “This study will utilize real-world data where we can analyze groups of treated and non-treated patients to investigate whether this AI-based digital biomarker can predict benefit of ACT in colon cancer to guide personalized treatment. Personalizing treatment and reducing overtreatment is one of the main goals the DCCG aims to achieve.”
"We are honored to be partnering with world-leading oncologists and pathologists at the UMC Utrecht to validate Histotype Px Colorectal as a predictive test to guide treatment in colon cancer," said Dr. Torbjørn Furuseth, CEO and Co-Founder of DoMore Diagnostics. "UMC Utrecht is particularly well suited for this type of study given their leading position on chemotherapy de-escalation and early adoption of digital pathology, and dr. Roodhart is an emerging expert who will impact how we treat colon patients over the decades to come. Starting this study is a major milestone for the company and a crucial step in documenting the potential benefits of the biomarker to bring it towards inclusion in clinical guidelines and widespread clinical use to the benefit of cancer patients."
Surgery is the main treatment for this patient population, and most patients are cured after surgery. Since some patients recur and die from the cancer, chemotherapy is standard of care for most patients, causing severe acute and chronic side effects. De-escalation and personalization of potentially unnecessary and harmful treatment is a major concern among oncologists, researchers, health systems and professional organizations across the world. Reflecting this shared goal among public and private actors to improve and personalize cancer treatment, multiple prestigious private-public grants has been awarded to UMC Utrecht and DoMore Diagnostics from Health~Holland, The Research Council of Norway and the European Innovation Council to support the clinical development and validation of Histotype Px® Colorectal.
About UMC Utrecht
UMC Utrecht is an international university medical center with the core tasks of healthcare, research and education. With more than 12,000 employees, UMC Utrecht, is one of the largest public healthcare institutions in the Netherlands. Our mission is: Together we improve people's health and create the healthcare of tomorrow. Together we create more value, because every person counts. https://www.umcutrecht.
About DoMore Diagnostics
DoMore Diagnostics uses artificial intelligence to make personalized treatment decisions simple and accessible for all cancer patients. Its unique digital biomarkers predict patient outcomes from routine tumor tissue slides and can be seamlessly integrated into pathologists’ existing workflow. The lead product Histotype Px® Colorectal is a CE-IVDD marked outcome prediction marker for stage II and III colorectal adenocarcinoma that informs the decision of whether to provide adjuvant chemotherapy following surgical resection of the tumor.
About Colorectal Cancer and Histotype Px® Colorectal
Colorectal cancer is the third most common and second most deadly cancer but has seen little innovation in diagnostics and treatment the last decades. Adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) may be provided after primary surgery to prevent the disease from recurring, however overtreatment is prevalent with up to 85% of patients with stage II and stage III not benefitting from ACT and only suffering side effects.
Histotype Px® is an advanced deep learning algorithm that analyzes digital histology slides, identifying patients who may or may not benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy. Data previously published in The Lancet and Lancet Oncology showed the test can accurately predict survival outcomes in colorectal cancer patients. Histotype Px® Colorectal was developed to provide clinicians with valuable information to guide personalized treatment decisions and improve patient outcomes.
For more information about the Histotype Px Colorectal biomarker, please visit:
The Lancet publication.
The Lancet Oncology publication.
Contact:
Torbjørn Furuseth, MD
torbjorn.furuseth@domorediagnostics.com